Taking Care of You
by PaRisNigHtLigHts
Summary: (Spoiler: This story is set Post Naked Truth) Takaba may seem physically fine but the incident in Hong Kong has left him emotionally scarred. Perhaps, that is why Asami has became just a little soft... Let's accompany Asami and Takaba through this tough journey. Now continued.
1. Taking Care of You

Title: _Taking care of you_.

Anime/ Manga Kingdom: You're my Love prize in Viewfinder

Characters: Asami x Takaba

Timeframe: Post Naked Truth

A/N: This is probably going to be a one-shot. I am not sure if I should make this into a story, writing the whole process of the 'getting well' part. If you think I should, leave me a review (well, leave me a review even if you don't want. They brighten up my day knowing that you guys enjoy it). If not, I will probably leave it as a stand-alone since all I wanted to write is the part about Asami being just a little out of character, being so concerned about Akihito:) Enjoy reading(even thought it is short)^^

PS I have another story under Viewfinder on my Livejournal account, it is kind of more mature, so check it out. (My id is: Parisnightlight)

Taking Care of You

Pulling himself up into a foetal sitting position, his nails inched into his very own flesh. Sweat dripped down his naked upper body and mixed with the blood rolling down his arms where his fingers laid. However, that was not the scary part. What really mattered was that he was not even _feeling_ the pain physically anymore. Squeezing his eyes closed, he stared into abyss of darkness, seeing nothing but memories that he did not wish to hold onto. Scenes flashed through his mind just like the flashes of snapshots he took from his viewfinder. _Clothes being scrapped into pieces violently. His body being pulled forward against his will. A tattoo being painfully imprinted onto his skin._ A silent scream bursting out within his head. Agonized, he clenched his jaw and bit down on his lips with all the strength he had. When the last straw came through his memories, he jerked backwards and flunked his hands into the air as if throwing a gun away from himself. His eyes were wide open, as if he was scanning his surrounding for any danger. When he could not make out anything in the dark, he threw himself at where he thought the table lamp was.

Upon hearing the sound of a loud crash, Asami closed the refrigerator swiftly and rushed into his room. Pushing the door open with one shove, his fingers closed around the light switch before flicking it on. As the light brightened the room up, his eyes widened at the sight of his lover. Akihito was seated on the floor, staring off into space. His arms were lying lifeless on a pile of broken glasses from the damaged table lamp. With his forehead creased, Asami rushed towards him and pulled him away from the broken glasses, settling him on the bed stained with blood. Running his finger through his hair, he kneeled down in front of the younger boy and looked into his blank eyes carefully.

"Akihito," he breathed through his nose sharply, "What happened?" With that, he wrapped his fingers around the bleeding ones gently.

However, Takaba merely stared at him blankly. Then, he turned his head to the table lamp and frowned, upset with himself. Turning back to look at the older man guiltily, he tried to pull his fingers out from his gentle grip. When Asami did not release his hands, he opened his mouth to protest; only that he had lost his voice since the incident in Hong Kong.

"It's okay," Asami murmured as he stood up and reached for the first aid kit next to the bed, "Sit still."

As the older man cleansed his wounds and wrapped white bandages around his hands, Takaba watched him silently. Recently, he had been wondering if he had become a nuisance for Asami. Not only had he lost his voice and he had no freaking idea when it was going to come back, he was also a useless pile of trash now. He could not be near anyone except for Asami and even so, the only contact he could keep was simply holding his hands in his own. Frowning, he realised he was frustrated with himself. _How long was Asami going to want to keep him?_ Sooner or later, he would get tired of him. After all, he was a plaything in Asami's eyes. The question to ask was probably, is the older man looking after him because of the responsibility? Because it was one of Asami's rivals who left him in this state? Upon that thought, he clenched his fists into a ball.

Asami turned his attention away from his clenched hands and looked at the boy. "What are you thinking again?" He nearly sighed, and sat back down next to the boy on the bed, "If you're thinking about leaving _again_, you can forget about it." He did not like the idea of his lover leaving his side again. Even if his ego did stop him from admitting it, he had to say that he want Takaba by his side. The night when he brought him back to Japan, Takaba had gone missing almost immediately. If it were not for a police report regarding a muted young man straying along the edge of the building with a suicidal intent, he would not have found him in time before he did end his life. "Look, Akihito." He muttered, "You're going to stay here and you will. At least till you gets better."

Takaba sat, unmoving. Shaking his head, he jumped away from the bed and ran towards the door. Within seconds, Asami had him firmly held in his arms. Then, the younger man started sobbing and choking. Turning Takaba around to face him, he wrapped his arms around his shaking frame, "You'll get better, Akihito. Now, why don't you get some rest?" He was getting exhausted by Takaba's little outbursts every now and then. Brushing his fingers gently across his cheeks, he wiped the tears away and placed a kiss on his forehead to calm the boy down. It was very unlike Asami, but it was necessary and… most of all, he felt that both of them needed it amidst everything that had gone wrong for them both.

Pulling the boy back into the room, he pushed him back into the clean part of bed and pulled the blanket over his fragile body. Turning the light intensity down a notch or two, he stood up and prepared to leave the room, "I'll leave the lights on. Sleep, Akihito." As he took a step away from the bedside, a hand tugged on his white dress shirt, stopping him from walking away. Glancing down at the boy, he turned back and nodded. "I'll stay if that's what you want."

Asami loosened his tie and crawled into the bed with his clothes on. After all, Takaba still could not stand to be near to a naked body. He placed his arm under Takaba's head and brushed his hair with his other hand, soothing him to sleep. _Perhaps. Just perhaps_, Asami thought, _he would have to cure him with his love_. As much as he wanted to deny it, he does _love_ him.

-The End-


	2. An Emotional Mess

Title: _Taking care of you_.

Chapter: #02

Anime/ Manga Kingdom: You're my Love prize in Viewfinder

Characters: Asami x Takaba

Timeframe: Post Naked Truth

A/N: I decided to continue the story since some of you asked for it. Hopefully, you guys liked this chapter too. Not much is going on yet and I am midway through chapter 3 now. This is unbeta. Sorry for the mistakes made! And... leave me a review if you like it or don't like it (which part?) anyway! By the way, I appreciate all reviews:) [Another A/N at end of page.]

* * *

He nearly threw the knife down into the basin when he cut his pinkie. Turning on the tap, he ran his bleeding finger under the water as he frowned at the vegetable on the chopping board. Shaking his head, he off the tap and got back to his initial task – to prepare a meal for Takaba Akihito before the man woke up alone in their room. He grabbed a handful of chopped vegetable and added them to the silver pot containing udon noodles. Stirring the pot of ingredients with his left hand, he cracked an egg against the edge of the table and let the contents flowed out into the metal pot.

His eyes darted momentarily to the watch on his wrist and then to the door which led to their bedroom. Letting out a breath that he was not aware that he had been holding on to, a tiny smirk graced his lips. _The things he does for the younger man are probably the last thing he ever thought he would ever do in his whole life_, he thought. He flicked the knob to off the flame with his thumb after a good five minutes. After he poured the noodles out into a black bowl, he placed it together with a warm glass of coffee on the dinner table.

The door creaked as he pushed it open slowly. Poking his head into the room, he moved slowly towards the sleepy figure and sat down on the edge of the bed. He brushed the stray hair away from Takaba's face with his index finger then let his fingers traced down the hair to his pink lips. He did not really understand the reason why his heart ached at the sight of the younger man lying on his bed. Takaba was thinner than he should be and it had seemed that the liveliness was taken out from him. Shaking his head, he gently shook the boy awake.

"Akihito, it's time for breakfast."

Takaba opened his eyes slowly and glanced upwards straight into Asami's smothering eyes. For just a moment, he held the older man's stare without moving. He only blinked his eyes in surprise when Asami placed a light kiss on his forehead.

"Time to wake up, _sleeping beauty_." A playful smile played on his lips as he moved the blanket out of their way and pulled the younger man up when Takaba nodded.

He laced his fingers through Takaba's and led them both out of the room, towards the dining table. Pulling a chair out, he made the younger boy settled down in front of the bowl of noodles he prepared for him. "Eat them all, Akihito. No excuses this time," he ordered firmly and pressed the pair of chopsticks into his clenched fists.

Eyeing the frown on Takaba's face, he really hoped that he would finish the noodle this time round and not take a bite or two before running to the washroom to vomit them back out. His eyes trailed Takaba tightly as he dipped the ends of the chopsticks into the bowl and picked up two strands of noodles. However, his phone chose that time to interrupt the silent moment. He felt Takaba's stare at the object in his hand as he turned away from him and moved towards the window to answer the call.

"Asami," he greeted coolly into the phone.

"You need to attend to the meeting this afternoon by yourself," Kirishima told him in a firm tone.

Before the bodyguard could finish what he want to say, Asami cut him short. "Didn't I order you to attend on my behalf? I expect you to do the same this time round. No exceptions are to be made, are we clear on that?"

"Asami sama, Mr Henderson made it clear that he wanted to meet only you but not me. If not the deal would definitely fall through," He explained, trying to make Asami see reason.

"Look-" Before he could finish his sentence, he heard an annoying screechy noise from the dining area. His thumb darted to the red button and he ended the call as he turned around to find Takaba running towards the washroom.

He followed closely behind the man and watched in agony as Takaba puked his guts out. Laying one of his palms on Takaba's back, he moved his hand slowly in a circular motion. His other hand went to Takaba's face to move away the strands of hair as the younger man pressed his forehead against the cool hand. Both of them stayed still and silent for a few moments as Takaba tried to gain back his composure.

"Feeling better?" Asami asked calmly, wrapping his arms around Takaba's waist to prevent him from slipping to the floor.

The younger man nodded and pried himself off Asami. He turned around and reached for the phone in Asami's pocket. Pushing the phone into Asami's hands, he attempted to tell him to return Kirishima's call. After all, he did not want to be the reason to disrupt Asami's work and get him into trouble or make losses. Asami glanced at the phone in his hand and then back at Takaba. Placing the phone back into his pocket, he led the younger man out of the washroom and back to the dining area.

"I'll return to my work if you could finish your breakfast," Asami told him sternly.

Takaba stared at the older man. Sometimes some things just never changed. Even if Asami was more careful with him now, the man was still as stubborn as ever. He would do anything to get the younger man to do what he wanted. But he was using his job just to make him finish a bowl of noodles? That was ridiculous, Takaba thought. He glanced at the bowl of food with disgust. He did not feel like eating something that he had just puked out. Pushing the bowl away from him, he darted out of his chair and moved towards the fridge with Asami's eyes trailing after his every single movement. He pulled the door open and reached for the carton of milk.

However, the door was slammed closed before he could get the milk out of the fridge. With his back to the fridge, he noticed a frown on Asami's perfect face. What the hell was wrong with drinking milk? He wanted to shout at the older man, but of course he could not. His attempt to open the fridge door again was tarnished by the older man when he was forced to return to the bedroom again. Confused, he sat quietly on the bed as Asami left the bedroom.

After a good thirty minutes later, he was shaken awake to a bowl of porridge sitting in front of him. He turned his attention to Asami, as if questioning if this was prepared by him. The man gave a curt nod and sat down on the edge of the bed. Scooping a spoonful of porridge, Asami brought the spoon to his mouth and blew at it gently. Takaba merely stared at him, slightly awed at what the man was doing. Was this really the Asami he knew? He was shaken out of his thoughts when he felt the spoon against his lips. Opening his mouth, he slurped the porridge and swallowed it down his throat slowly. When he did not feel the familiar urge to vomit, he continued with the second spoonful of porridge and so on till the last spoonful.

Asami simply smirked and ruffled his hair before standing up with the empty bowl, "You should rest now."

Shaking his head, he pulled the hand on his hair away. He was not a kid. And he so did not need someone to babysit him twenty four hours a day. Moreover, he had more than a fair share of sleep. He did not feel like going back to sleep again. He wanted to go out. Take a breather or something. Anything would be better than staying cope up in an apartment, no, a room like that. He tried to stand up only to be pushed back into the bed.

"Akihito, don't you want me to finish my work?" Asami muttered, arching his eyebrows at the younger man. "I need you to stay here and rest so I can deal with my work without having to be interrupted because you got into trouble."

Sighing, Takaba nodded. Usually, he would not have given in that easily but he was really guilty about making Asami missed out on quite a bit of work as he had taken care of him for a while now.

He rolled around in the bed for another hour or so before he sat up with a frown. Even though he had wanted to behave for perhaps just a day, he could not really fight the urge to get out of the bed and maybe see some light or people other than Asami. His eyes searched for the clock on the bedside table. Smiling, he thought about how he could sneak out for an hour or so and then get back here without having Asami noticed at all. Slipping off the bed, he tucked a long sleeved shirt over his head. He opened the bedroom window and jumped off the window like a monkey. Slowly, he inched downwards to the first level without catching any attention from anyone since it is the afternoon and most people are out at work.

His head bobbed from side to side as he tried to avoid any of Asami's bodyguards. When he was certain that the coast was clear, he made a quick run out of the building area. He did not have his phone or wallet with him since all his personal belongings have not been replaced after they were lost in Hong Kong. Even if they were replaced, Asami would not have given them to him. The older man probably knew that he would try to run away if he had access to some money. But he was outside now, wasn't he?

Picking his way around the neighbourhood, he shoved his hands into his pockets and walked slowly. His eyes took in the sight of the leafless trees and the thick pile of snow lying idly on the branches of the tree. If only he had his camera with him, he would capture this beautiful moment of the winter season. Speaking of his job, he glanced down wryly at his hands. Has the company fired him for being missing for a while now? Then again, even if he had a job now, would he be able to pick up the camera and look through the viewfinder again? Deep in thoughts, his hands shook unconsciously with a fear building within him. He sank to the ground, with both of his bare hands covered in the pile of thick snow. If this could numb the fear and the pain he felt, he would gladly do it.

"Takaba!" A voice shouted at him from afar.

His head snapped up and glanced behind at the source of the shout. His eyes widened when he spotted Suoh running towards him. Exhausted from running away, he stayed where he was and waited for the man to catch up to where he was. He had the urge to laugh when he realised that he was not running away from the man. What happened to him? Didn't he love the adrenaline that he always gets from such chase?

"Takaba, are you all right?" Suoh asked as he bent down to help the younger boy up.

Takaba merely stared at him without any response. He watched as Suoh shook his head in exasperation, probably slightly irritated by his escape. With his hands still embedded under the layer of think snow, he turned his attention back to the snow covered floor. However, the bodyguard was impatient with him and began pulling his bare hands out of the snow. When the snow would not barged, he thought he heard a soft groan from Suoh. He glanced at the bodyguard blankly, all of a sudden, all he wanted to do was to lie down and sleep.

"Don't touch me," he whispered as his head spin at the skin contact. His gaze fell as he closed his eyes to the world, sleep claiming him.

When Suoh finally released the boy's hands from the snow, he turned his attention back to Takaba, "Let's return now. Asami is waiting for-"

He stopped in his sentence when Takaba's head fell against his shoulder. Glancing down at the boy, nervousness caught up to him. If anything was to happen to the boy, he was so dead. He shook the boy with his hands which are wrapped up in gloves. With his eyebrows furrowed, he squatted down and adjusted Takaba such that most of his weight was lying on his back. Straightening up, he pulled both of Takaba's hands to the front and then began moving quickly back to the apartment.

When he had reached the apartment with the boy half-hanging off his body, he looked up to see Asami holding the door open. Worried for himself, he tried to apologised for his mistake, "Asami sama, I'm-"

"I don't want to hear your excuses, Suoh." Asami cut him off coldly as his arms reached for Takaba before he lifted the boy into his arms and closed the door behind him.

Leaning back against the door for a moment, he frowned down at the unconscious boy. He was so much lighter than the last time he had lifted him off the floor for sex. Stalled at that thought, he realised that he was worried for Takaba. Asami Ryuchi was actually concerned about someone else. Shelving away the thought for now, he moved quickly to the bedroom and placed Takaba down on the bed. His hand reached for hands that were dangling off the bed, but froze immediately upon contact. Takaba's hands were freezing. Without any other thoughts, he marched into the washroom and got some warm water and a cloth.

"Akihito, sit up." He murmured as he placed a few pillows against the bedframe and helped the younger man to a sitting position, "Akihito?"

Takaba frowned. He was annoyed. Someone was interrupting his sleep. His eyes flickered as he tried to concentrate on the person sitting in front of him. Feeling a warm sensation against his skin, he tried to move away only to be held in place by a hand. All of a sudden, he was alert. _No. No. Don't touch me. _His hands began thrashing around as he attempted to move away from the contact. He gave out a loud cry when he realised that he could not get free. _Let go of me! Let go! _He wanted to shout. His heart pounded hard and quick against his chest as he tried to breathe. He needed space and he needed air. His hazy vision was not helping either; he could not make out where he was or who was restraining him. With a kick, he kicked the bowl of warm water off the bed and spilled the contents onto the floor with a loud thud and a splash.

"Akihito!" Asami shouted when the boy screamed in agony, his hands pushing him away. "Akihito! Stop and look at me!"

A sharp pain shot through his heart, seeing the boy thrash around in his arms wildly. "Akihito! Stop. I'm not hurting you. I'm Asami. It's okay."

He pulled the boy against his chest and wrapped his arms around his tiny frame. Despite the shouts and the protests, he hugged Takaba tightly to him with soft pleas to stop. "Akihito, it's me, Asami. Nothing's wrong. It's okay. It's okay, Akihito. No one's hurting you."

After a good ten minutes, the screaming subsided and Takaba leaned into Asami's embrace as he took in deep breath of Asami. His fingers grabbed tightly onto Asami's white dress shirt, his knuckles turning white from the pressure he was exerting. He tried to calm down as his vision became clearer. He was safe. Asami was holding him, not someone else. He was alright.

"Akihito," Asami whispered soothingly as his fingers brushed down the hazelnut hair with his fingers.

A/N: Special thanks to the reviewers to chapter 1 - karl1n, moonlight, AkiBrocoli, aimaru, Nbsiren, aLuckyShroom, LanaLegolas and Guest.  
PS Fei Long will appear in later chapters;)


	3. Taking One Step (at a time)

Title: Taking care of you.

Chapter: #03

Anime/ Manga Kingdom: You're my Love prize in Viewfinder

Characters: Asami x Takaba

Timeframe: Post Naked Truth

A/N: Again, this is unbeta. So if there is any grammar or spelling mistakes, forgive me for that. Once again, thank you for all your kind reviews. I really appreciate them, so keep them coming!

* * *

With his back turned away from the boy in bed, he waited for his call to be connected. He glanced out of the window and then back at the reflection on the window. Takaba was still asleep or knocked out from yesterday episode. Reflecting upon yesterday's events, Asami nearly flinched. For perhaps the first time in his life, he was afraid. Not for himself but rather for someone that he _actually_ cared for.

"I'm Dr. Hiroshi Usui. Who am I speaking to?" The voice at the other end of the phone asked politely.

"Asami Ryuchi," he replied firmly.

There was a brief hesitation on the receiver end upon learning who the caller was. "To what do I owe the pleasure of receiving your personal call, Mr Asami?" The man spoke warily.

Asami smirked as he heard the slight trepidation from the other man. "I believe I've a personal matter which I need your help in handling. Of course, you'll be rewarded greatly if you manage to deal with it."

"Mr Asami, as I've told you before, I'm not into doing illegal business or-" The man attempted to turn down the offer quickly, only to be cut off by Asami.

He tapped his fingers against the window as he explained the situation to the psychologist. "It's not an illegal situation, _I'm afraid_."

"Pardon?" The other man asked suspiciously.

"Dr. Hiroshi. As I've mentioned earlier, this is a personal matter. It's not regarding my business or according to you, an illegal business. I need you to come down to club Sion later this afternoon. You'd receive the details from my men," Asami answered the enquiry in his usual no-shit tone, "Do you understand me?"

The man stuttered, "I… I understand. Is there anything else that-"

"It's confidential. I'd expect you to share the details and our encounter with no one else," Asami clarified.

"I understand, Mr Asami."

With that, Asami ended the call and shoved the phone back into his pocket. He turned around and walked back to the bed. All he had to do now was to convince the boy to see the psychologist. He knew that it was not going to be easy or pretty to get the stubborn young man to agree to get help, but he was going to make him do it anyway. If he did not receive any help now, he was afraid that not only Takaba, but he was going to go mad soon. He did not want to feel restless the whole day worrying about the boy. His work was piling up on his desk and even he could see that he needed to stop. His men probably noticed too. Perhaps, the most important reason would be that he wanted Takaba to return to being himself, being who he was before the whole Hong Kong incident.

"Akihito," he spoke as he bent down and cupped one side of Takaba's face with his hand, "I know you're awake."

Takaba opened his eyes to stare up at him questioningly. His own fingers moved to Asami's hand on his face. Pulling the hand away from his face, he clasped it in his hands instead as he sat up in the bed to face the older man. His eyes studied Asami closely. His instincts told him something was up and that it had to do with the earlier call he made just now. He had caught snippets of what Asami said, but he could not figure out what it was about. Staring hard at Asami now, he waited for the truth.

"Yesterday, you lost it again." Asami stated, looking straight into Takaba's eyes.

Shifting his glance away, Takaba felt uneasy. He did not really want to touch on the sensitive subject now. Although he could not really remember clearly what happened yesterday, he did know that he lost control of himself and the visions were back to haunt him. He stayed still as he bit down on his lips nervously.

"Akihito, I…" Asami continued but stopped when he noticed tears rolling down Takaba's cheeks, falling down onto his hands, "It's okay. We'll face the problem together. I've made a call to a psychologist, he'll help you-"

Pulling his hands away from Asami's, he glared up at the older man. He shook his head furiously at Asami. He did not need a psychologist, he was fine. All he needed was time. Time heals all wound, don't they? Scrambling backwards, he kicked the blanket out of the way and picked up the pillows and began throwing them at the taller man angrily. Now, Asami thought he was crazy? Was he going to leave him to the psychologist and forget all about him because he thought that he was nuts?

Frightened and upset, he ran out of the room towards the kitchen with Asami close behind his heels. He inched to a corner, with his back pressed against the stove. His heart pounded harder and faster as he watched Asami near him. Frantic, he began to look around him for something, anything to stop Asami from grabbing him to visit the crazy psychologist. His eyes caught sight of the sharp object in one of the wooden racks and before Asami could stop him, he pulled out the knife and raised it in front of him, forcing the older man to keep a distance away from him. Maybe now… maybe Asami would use his gun and shoot him dead, he thought as he stood unstably with his legs shaking because of the fear he felt.

"Ah…Ah Argh uh," he tried to speak, to stop Asami from hurting him. He wanted to plead with the man to just let him off, let him go if he found him a burden, "Ush ah uh argh ah."

Frustrated with himself for not being able to express himself properly, he waved the knife around wildly. Closing his mouth, he clenched his teeth. What good was he if he could not even speak? He raised the knife to his throat. Perhaps if he carved the knife down his throat, his voice might come back. Didn't Kou always told him that miracles do exist? If this was one, he would do it. Before he could run the knife down his throat, Asami's hand flashed before him and wrapped around his tightly to pull the knife out of his grasp. When Asami realised that Akihito was not going to let go of the dangerous object, he moved his other hand to curl around the sharp, pointy blade. Upon seeing the blood oozed out of Asami's flesh, Takaba's eyes widened in fear and his fingers released the knife. Then, his legs gave up on him and he fell to the floor in a daze.

Asami heaved a sigh of relief as he dropped the knife into the washing basin. Holding Takaba gently with his other hand, he knelt down in front of the man. "Akihito, look. I'm fine. I just need you to agree to let this man see you and treat you."

Takaba looked up at him with his hair stuck down to his face by his sweat. Taking in shallow breaths, he gazed at Asami's injured hand then back at his face. He was surprised by what he saw. Asami seemed worried and concerned for him. It was as if he felt the pain he was experiencing. Closing his eyes, he sobbed uncontrollably.

"Akihito," Asami called for his attention again and he glanced at the man with a frown, "Please."

Asami never begged anyone. But he just did so. Takaba stared at him for a minute before giving in with a nod. Asami smiled at him and placed his uninjured arm around his shoulder and hugged him, "Thank you."

Takaba nodded silently, his tears seeping into Asami's shirt. If this was before the Hong Kong incident, he would never believe that Asami would ever say the words 'please' or 'thank you'. Now, he finally understood. Asami wanted him to be fine. Asami wanted him to be freed from agony. Asami _cared_ for him.

For the rest of the afternoon, Takaba had sat on the sofa and played video games with the new console Asami had bought for him in the living room. Asami had cleared up the mess in the kitchen and prepared food for the both of them before the visit by the psychologist in the evening. Then, he had Takaba lying with his head on his lap for a short afternoon nap, which was disrupted by the psychologist's visit.

"Good evening, I'm Dr. Hiroshi Usui. Could I address you as Takaba?" The psychologist had asked when they were all seated down in the living room.

Takaba glanced at Asami, who gave him an encouraging nod, and then he nodded at Dr. Hiroshi. Giving the patient a small smile, he continued with his questions.

He watched the patient carefully as he prodded around the sensitive issue, "I learnt from Mr Asami that you've been having nightmares and that you've lost your voice after a rather violent incident. Am I right?"

Not missing the slight flinch that Takaba gave, the man nodded and jotted something down in his folder. "Takaba, I'm here to help you deal with the incident and get your voice back. I need you to relax, there is nothing dangerous here. You're safe and Mr Asami is going to help you along the way as well."

Asami squeezed Takaba's shoulder gently to give him his affirmation he would be there. The young man nodded and looked back at the psychologist. "Firstly, I need you to face the incident. Only by facing it and not escaping from what happened, you would be able to get over your fears. Now, could you revisit what you went through that day… on the ship?"

His eyes shot up to the man. Flashes of a blond man running after him with a gun and then firing a bullet at him shot through his mind. He jerked against the firm hold that Asami had on him. Sweat began dropping down the side of his head as he struggled to breathe in and out evenly.

"You're doing fine, Takaba san. It's normal for you to feel fear and nervousness when you first learn to deal with such an incident. Now, I need you to try to recall the events slowly and understand that they are the past. It's over. There is no need to be afraid or be fearful of anything."

Asami glared at the psychologist. Is _this _what they called a treatment? It seemed to aggravate his lover further rather than help him out of it. Noticing the glare from the yakuza, Dr Hiroshi looked at him straight in his eyes. He nodded at the man to assure him that he knew what he was doing and to just give him some time.

"Mr Asami, could you tell me the sequence of events that happened?"

Asami nearly took his gun out and shot the man dead. What the hell was all these bullshit about reminiscing about the past? Sparing a glance at the boy at his side, he clenched his jaws and began to speak.

"You were standing at the deck of the ship with the contract in your hands," Asami watched Takaba cautiously, recalling what he witnessed, "You shouted for me. _Asami_, you called out."

The boy buried his face in his hands as the scenes replayed in his head. He wanted them to stop but they kept coming at him like a series of waves.

"I saw you from the top of the ship and I shouted your name. You turned around and saw me, I guessed you were glad and you shouted my name again. Only that the blond idiot sneaked up behind you when you're unaware and fired at you," he paused to see Takaba grimacing but still listening.

"I rushed down and shot him before he could shoot you again," he continued as his fingers brushed Takaba's shoulders comfortingly. "For a moment, I thought you _died_."

Takaba stopped shaking and he risked a peek at Asami to see his eyes closed and a grimace on his face instead.

"You didn't, of course. I was glad. You lost your voice when we left the ship. It was sudden but I'm still relieved that you're alive," he finished and gave Takaba a meaningful look.

Dr Hiroshi nodded and jotted down some more details. "Takaba san, do you know why you lost your voice?"

Takaba shook his head and then nodded but shook his head again. The psychologist tore a piece of paper out from his notebook and handed it to Takaba with a pen. "If you don't mind, you could write your thoughts down. It would be easier for us to communicate."

Taking the pen into his hand, he thought about it for a while before writing his thoughts down in words: 'I am not sure, but it might be the fear of losing myself or maybe seeing someone else die. Yoh almost died. But I really do not know why exactly. I just could not speak, I feel like I am strangled. It is painful.'

The man picked up the paper and shoved it into his book. "One last question before our one hour session ends. You mentioned about feeling strangled. Did you get strangled? If so, I want you to think of his face and know that you're not in danger anymore."

Not able to look at Asami, Takaba nodded. He remembered vividly who strangled him. The fingers around his neck had applied such strong pressure that he struggled to breathe. The man did release him in the end but every time he thought about it, he felt as if he was being strangled all over again. Taking in huge gulps of breath now, he tried to breathe properly.

"Takaba san, it's all right now. No one is strangling you. Look, your neck is perfectly fine. Now, take in a deep breath. Right, you're doing great and release. Now, do that a few more times," Dr Hiroshi advised in a calm tone as his eyes watched Asami sooth the younger man. He could not actually believe his eyes. Asami Ryuchi was known to most as a ruthless man yet what he was witnessing now was the love and concern he had for the younger man, who he assumed was his lover.

"Now, that's good. Takaba san, I need you to practice breathing in and out evenly and slowly whenever you panicked. It'll definitely help you in calming your nerves and aid you in recovering. I'll see you again in another three days."

Asami stood up from the sofa and led the psychologist to the door. "You've signed the contract. If he recovered from this fully, you'll get the rewards as stated in it but if anything about the situation is leaked out, you should know what would happen to you."

The man nodded hurriedly and exited the apartment. _Asami Ryuchi really did cared for the young man_, he thought, but the man was still as threatening as he could be at all other times. He sighed. He guessed he would try his best to cure his lover since he always did that for all his patients.

* * *

A/N: Special thanks to the reviewers to chapter 2 - radcat38, Serinji, aimaru, joesangkrah, Pyon and Guest.

PS Suoh will be coming in the next chapter! Hold your horses, people!


	4. Patience is Important

Title: Taking care of you.

Chapter: #04

Anime/ Manga Kingdom: You're my Love prize in Viewfinder

Characters: Asami x Takaba

Timeframe: Post Naked Truth

A/N: Again, this is unbeta. So if there is any grammar or spelling mistakes, forgive me for that. I have been pretty busy with my real life, so this is kind of late. Once again, thank you for all your kind reviews. I really appreciate them, so keep them coming!

* * *

His fingers pulled the red string through the needle hole with careful precision. Then, it was followed by a tiny knot at the end of the loose string. Satisfied, he picked up the small piece of half completed knitted piece and continued sewing. His eyes were focused on the sharp end of needle as he poked the needle through the dark red piece of what is supposed to be a scarf. Biting on his pink lips in deep concentration, a small smile graced his lips.

He really did enjoyed sewing even though it was unexpected. He had vehemently objected to the idea when Asami had handed him the materials after Dr Hiroshi had recommended it for his treatment. According to the man, sewing should help him in stabilising his hand movements since he had been having some problems with his right hand from holding the gun in Hong Kong. It might not be a physical issue but more of an emotional problem, he thought, seeing that his right hand sometimes shook uncontrollably when he got nervous. However, if sewing could help him in solving this concern of his, then he did not really care about how sewing seemed to be more of a female thing than a male thing.

"Ugh," he gasped and dropped everything onto the table and floor.

A small drop of blood formed at the surface of his index finger from the impact of pricking himself accidentally with the needle. He frowned at his finger and felt a surge of irritation for making a mistake _again_. His left hand reached over and grabbed his shaking right hand. _Stop_, he begged silently as he stared at his hands. His head turned in the direction of the door when he heard a click.

"Takaba, are you alright?" Kirishima appeared before him within seconds.

Still holding onto his right hand, he glanced at the bodyguard, puzzled. He did not remember Asami saying anything about a change of bodyguard. Suoh had been assigned to guard him since his return to Japan. Furrowing his eyebrows at the thought of Suoh being fired or having worse things done to him because of his attempted escape, he turned to Kirishima for answers. As if Kirishima actually knew what he was curious about, the man shifted his eyes away from Takaba's uneasily.

Then, when Takaba still glared at him, he finally gave in. "Suoh might be receiving punishments for not fulfilling his duties properly."

Jumping up from the floor, he tried to run past Kirishima to the door, only to be held back by the taller man and pushed down to sit on the floor again. Kirishima eyed Takaba and gave him a firm shake of his head to tell him not to interfere with the matter unless he wanted Suoh to get into more trouble with Asami.

"It's better if you stay here. You wouldn't be of help to Suoh if you're going to escape again. In fact, you might get me into trouble this time," Kirishima explained patiently and bent down to pick up the needle and thread from the floor.

Takaba sighed and retrieved the needle from Kirishima's hand to finish up the dark red scarf. After a moment, he placed the needle onto the table after a thought flashed past his mind. He needed a pen. He scrambled up and bent under the table to retrieve a pile of paper. All the while, Kirishima stood by his side and watched him quietly. Quickly, he scribbled across the piece of paper: Tell me. Did Asami kill him?

"Takaba, I don't know."

The young man chewed at the end of the pen and then he wrote another sentence under the first question: Would Asami kill him then?

Remaining stoic faced, Kirishima repeated himself. "Takaba, I've no idea really."

Turning back to the paper again, another statement and question: Asami will not tell me if I ask. Tell me when you know?

"Takaba, even if I learnt about the punishment, I'm in no place to confide in you with such information. It's confidential."

Annoyed, Takaba tore the paper out from the pile and crashed it into a ball with his fingers. Shooting the taller man a glance, he smiled slyly. He picked out another needle from the sewing kit and stretched it out to the older man.

Kirishima arched his eyebrow at him, "Are you asking me to join you in sewing?"

Takaba nodded and patted the empty space next to him to tell him to sit down. Kirishima shook his head to turn down his request. Puffing his cheeks out, he picked up his pen again and wrote on a fresh sheet of paper: Asami told me that I could ask you to do anything.

The bodyguard stared down at the paper. Without much of an expression, he sat down cross-legged next to Takaba and began threading a string through the needle loop. Takaba simply smirked. With that, the both of them just happened to be sewing buddies for the rest of the evening.

On the other hand, Asami was busy with work that had piled up over the few days he had taken off to take care of Takaba. After approximately one week, he finally returned to work after seeing some improvements in the younger boy. Signing his name on the dotted line with a black fountain pen, he smiled briefly at the thought of _his_ boy. He had been feeling uneasy throughout the past few days not entirely due to the emotional turmoil Takaba had put the both of them through, but rather at the realisation or perhaps his discovery of what he might actually feel for Takaba. It was something deeper than the pure lust he thought he only felt with Takaba, it was something more than the urge to own him entirely, it was a feeling that he had forbidden himself from feeling. But if he learnt anything from this episode, it would be that he would rather cherish the boy than deny himself anything now after almost losing him.

Deep in thought, he almost missed the knock on his wooden door. Snapping his head up, he waited for Suoh to enter the room. Earlier in the day, he had ordered the man to report to his office for the incident few days back. When he had learnt that Takaba had gone missing, he was furious at the man at first, which only changed to worry for the well-being of boy.

"Asami sama," Suoh closed the door behind him and bowed down in front of Asami. "I apologised for my negligence for my duties. I'll undertake the responsibilities and grave consequences of such action. Please forgive me."

Asami regarded his man carefully as he studied the man silently. After a long period of silence in the room, Asami stood up from the chair and strode slowly to stand in front of Suoh. His hand reached out for a cigarette and Suoh immediately stood up to light the cigarette for him. Blowing out a puff of smoke, he leaned backwards on his desk and stared down at Suoh.

"Well, what do you want me to do?" He asked humourlessly.

Suoh looked up at him in shock. "Pardon me?"

Asami closed his eyes briefly and repeated himself. "What types of consequences are you expecting?"

Silence met his question instead. Opening his eyes, he brought the cigarette back to his lips. "Tell me why you neglected your duties."

"Asami sama, I am sorry for not paying closer attention to Takaba. I did not realise that he had left the apartment from the window until I found your room empty when I went there to pass him his dinner," Suoh attempted to explain himself.

When he noticed that Asami did not respond, he continued with what exactly happened that day. "I found him with his hands buried in snow in the neighbourhood area. I shouted for him when I found him and he remained seated on the ground. I asked if he was fine, he didn't say anything so I began to lift the snow away to free his hand. And then-"

He stopped as if recalling something. Suoh gasped as his eyes widened at his memory.

"What?" Asami demanded as patience ran dry.

"I think Takaba _told_ me not to touch him."

Asami stared at him for a while as if assessing if he was saying the truth. "You're saying that he _spoke_?"

"It… It was soft, but I'm certain about it."

Asami nodded and waved his fingers at the bodyguard.

"Asami sama?" Suoh asked, mystified. Why did Asami dismiss him?

"You can go," the man stated as he picked up his coat, "Suoh. I'll let this time go. No next time."

Suoh nodded blankly and left the room instantly, leaving Asami to wonder when he had become such an old softie. Ignoring his thoughts, Asami put on his coat and walked out of Club Sion to get back to Takaba.

His eyes shifted quickly from side to side after realising that Kirishima was nowhere in sight outside his apartment. Wary, he moved stealthily to the door and pressed the pin code swiftly with his fingers. With a gentle push of the door, he entered the room silently. His hand reached inside his coat for his handgun in case he needed it. He sidestepped along the wall and stopped when he heard some soft murmurings from further in the apartment.

"I think it's supposed to go this way instead," he heard Kirishima spoke softly. What in the world are the both of them doing?

"No, I mean. Look, lift your fingers and put them here. Then, bring it down slowly," the voice continued soothingly.

Asami tightened his grip around the handgun. He furrowed his eyebrows in frustration. They better not be doing what he thought they were doing.

"Takaba, not too hard. Yes, that is right. This is so much better," Kirishima's voice was starting to irk the older man.

Asami walked out from the dark with the gun by his side. His eyes widened at the sight before him. The two men were sewing together. He almost cursed himself when he realised how wrong his thoughts were. It did surprised him that Kirishima had joined Takaba though. Clearing his throat, he alerted them to his presence. Almost immediately, his bodyguard stood up and greeted him.

With his usual grace, Asami walked towards them and leaned down to place a kiss on Takaba's forehead. Takaba merely stared back up at him, a little startled. Then, the older man straightened up and dismissed his right hand man. After the door closed behind the leaving man, Asami sat down next to the younger boy, where Kirishima was seated earlier. Placing his large hand on Takaba's, he stopped him from sewing.

"Are you feeling any better today?" He asked when Takaba raised his head up to look at him.

Takaba seemed thoughtful for a moment before giving a nod. He did not feel different from yesterday but he did not feel worse too. Perhaps, he was making little steps in recovery.

"That's good. What is this?" Asami asked, amused as he picked up the piece of incomplete red piece.

The younger man shot him a glare. He was certain that the man was making fun of his work. He thought it looked fine, just the way a scarf should. A little pissed off, his arm reached out to snatch his red scarf out of Asami's hand, only to have it pulled away from his reach.

"I love that feisty attitude of yours," Asami commented as a smirk graced his face, "Is this scarf for me though?"

Takaba stared at him hardly. Didn't he ask what the red piece of cloth is just moments ago? Now, he said he knew that it was a scarf. He took in a deep breath like how Dr Hiroshi had taught him before, and then released his breath slowly. With a blush creeping up his cheeks, he nodded with embarrassment.

"I like it."

His eyes followed Asami's movements. The man watched Takaba as he wrapped the half completed scarf around his neck and smiled when Takaba flushed even redder.

Silence settled around them while Asami fingered the scarf with his fingers. After thinking through and weighing his options, he decided to do it the straight forward way. "Akihito, can you speak now?"

Glancing up from the floor, he studied Asami carefully. He wondered why he asked him that question today. Maybe Asami was getting frustrated and tired from taking care of him. He was useless and a burden to the yazuka. Clenching his teeth down, he shook his head.

The older man opened and then closed his mouth. He wondered if Suoh heard correctly. "Would you like to try?"

When Takaba did not respond, he spoke again. "Try saying my name."

Takaba looked at Asami in his eyes as he hesitated. Opening his mouth, he tried to do as asked.

"Ah…gah…a." He shook his head at the older man.

Resting his hands on Takaba's shoulders, he attempted to try to help him. "We just need a few more tries and you will get it. Come on."

Not wanting to disappoint him, Takaba tried again. "Ahh-ah…uhh."

"A…ah-as-aah."

After a few more tries, he started to grow frustrated with himself. "Ahhh-ka…ahh."

He inserted two fingers into his mouth and began forcing them down his throat in an attempt to force his voice back. Tears started pouring down his face and Asami tried to pull his hands away from himself.

"Calm down, Akihito. Stop," he wrenched the younger man's hands away from his mouth, "It's okay. You will get better. Stop."

His gagging turned into harsh panting and gasping after his hands are held tightly in Asami's. His right hand began to shake uncontrollably when he started to feel anxious and nervous. Asami grabbed it and massaged it gently.

"It's fine now. We'll take one step at a time." The taller man pulled Takaba into a tight embrace to calm the boy down.

Patience. Asami just needed to learn what patience really is.

* * *

A/N: Special thanks to the reviewers to chapter 3 – kittyzala, Skatjas, joesangkrah, Mirea, Theia Pallas, karl1n, scaza201 and 2 Guests.


	5. Peace is a Variable

Title: Taking care of you.

Chapter: #05

Anime/ Manga Kingdom: You're my Love prize in Viewfinder

Characters: Asami x Takaba

Timeframe: Post Naked Truth

A/N: Again, this is unbeta. So if there is any grammar or spelling mistakes, forgive me for that. I have been pretty busy with my real life, so this is kind of late. Once again, thank you for all your kind reviews. I really appreciate them, so keep them coming!

* * *

A few weeks have passed since Takaba's last appointment with Dr Hiroshi. He still could not speak but he was better at managing his anxiety now. Asami was thus able to spend more time with his work than before since Takaba could pretty much be on his own now, even though he was still under the supervision of his bodyguard. However, most things remained the way they were. Takaba was not allowed to take up any job and he was forced to stay in Asami's apartment. As usual, he was annoyed with Asami's decision yet he still abided by it since he did not have much of a choice either. Being muted, he could not speak when he wanted to or even needed to. Also, he would easily get nervous and have anxiety attacks in crowds, or so he learnt a week ago.

He was bored after lazing around the apartment for almost a whole day, so he had asked Suoh to take him to Club Sion to meet Asami for dinner. Surprisingly, Asami relented and Suoh drove him to the club. Takaba had thought that he would get there fine as long as no one stopped him to talk to him. But it proved otherwise upon the moment he stepped into the crowded room. People were surrounding him or so he thought they were. Voices were buzzing in the background like bees flying around him, driving him nuts. Whenever he took a step, his surroundings swayed and the floor felt unstable to him. Even if he did attempt to move, he knew that his directions were all wrong. In seconds, the anxiety got to him full blasted as he knelt down to the floor and rolled into a small bundle with his hands wrapping around his head and body. When people tried to help him up, he only shouted and trashed his arms around, even to Suoh and Asami. It was only when he heard Asami's soothing voice, then he stopped and looked up at the man in tears. The man had then carried him out of the crowd and into his private room with only the two of them and calmed him down significantly.

Takaba stared out of the window blankly. It seemed like it was getting dark soon. He wondered if Asami would be getting back home soon. _Home, huh? _He questioned himself. When did Asami's apartment become his home? He knew that he was becoming too comfortable here, but he had to admit he was starting to like this new life. Or should he say, this new Asami that seemed to be deeply concerned and involved in his welfare. He was gentle, not like the Asami he knew who was so adamant and forceful about things. Asami was still forceful about some things such as the apartment and Takaba's job, but their physical activities had died down for about a month. Takaba knew that he should be grateful that Asami was not forcing him to engage in sexual activities with the older man, but some issues and unwanted thoughts had been gnawing at him for a while. He wondered if Asami went outside to satisfy his sexual desires since he could not give him any. These thoughts should not have hurt him as much as he thought they should. In fact, he did not want to even think about the possibility of such thoughts.

Standing up on his feet, he moved to the dining table and picked up his vibrating phone. It reminded him of the calls that he had ignored for the past few weeks since he could not speak. Flipping the phone opened, he looked at the incoming mail. His eyes widened when he saw that it was from his parents.

From: Mother

Subject: Visit

Dear son,

Your father and I will be coming to visit you later this week. Could you email us your address? We are worried about you since you have not been picking up our calls and Kou says that you have not been in contact with him for quite a while. I hope that you're doing well and see you soon.

Love,

Your mother

Takaba dropped the phone onto the floor as he slowly knelt down on the floor in frustration. What was he going to tell his parents now? He could not possibly meet up with them and keep quiet the whole time. They would figure out that something was wrong with him. Taking in and releasing deep breath slowly, he grabbed his shaking right hand and willed it to stop vibrating. _Think, Akihito, think. _There must be a way out, he thought. If he dismissed the email like all the others by ignoring them, his parents might get even more worried about him. He did not want them to feel that way. His fingers pulled at his hair as he bit down on his bottom lips in deep thought.

As an idea hit him, he picked up the phone from the floor and began to type back a response which he hoped that his parents might believe and postpone their visit.

To: Mother

Subject: Re: Visit

Dear Mother,

I am sorry for not maintaining contact with you. I have been busy with work since last month. In fact, I am not in Japan now. I am on an assignment now. Currently, I am traveling with a travel magazine to take photographs of some third world countries. I guess I will contact you and father after I returned to Japan after this assignment since it is hard to get any connection here. I am afraid it would take months before this assignment ends. So I will see you in months. Take care.

Love,

Akihito

After pressing the button 'send', he sat back down onto the floor and leaned his back against one of the table legs. With his eyes closed, he mind drifted off and he fell asleep within minutes.

On the other hand, Asami had a rough day trying to settle as many business negotiations as he could in such few short hours. He had been working doubly hard this few days so that he could take some time off to accompany Takaba for his appointments with Dr Hiroshi. The boy had tried to tell him that it was not necessarily for him to be present for every appointment but Asami had made it a point to be there to watch over him, especially after that incident in Club Sion. He should not have agreed to Takaba's request to visit him at his workplace. He had experienced the feeling of dread when he watched his lover fight him off, as if he was a total stranger. He did not like it. In fact, he did not want to feel that way again.

His eyes glanced to the door as Kirishima opened the car door for him. With elegant grace, he moved out of the black car and walked towards the lift with Kirishima close behind. A hand stretched outward before him to press the button and then the bodyguard stood back to wait for the lift.

Upon reaching his floor, he left the lift and strolled down the corridor before Kirishima could do a proper scan of their environment. The man had realised that his boss had always been in a rush home recently. For one, he knew that Asami was worried for the photographer. Even though he personally did not approve of Asami's actions at Club Sion few days ago, he did not mutter a word of disagreement to him. Kirishima was at least seeing a side of Asami that no one had seen before. Someone who could put everything aside to see to someone he cared deeply for. He believed that Asami knew the risk he had taken by coming out to the bar area that day to bring Takaba out from the crowd. It would not be a big surprise if people spread the word that Asami had a lover around the underworld, which would certainly become a weakness for his boss. But Kirishima guessed that was the reason why he and Suoh were employed for.

His thoughts were interrupted shortly when he came up short behind Asami. Wondering why the tall man stopped suddenly, he moved out from behind Asami to stand next to his boss. He was startled when he spotted a tall, slim figure leaning against the door of Asami's apartment. After a second, Suoh came out from behind the tall man to bow at Asami as a form of greeting.

"Sorry, Asami sama. I tried to get him to leave but he wouldn't. He demanded to see Takaba san," Suoh explained the situation as sweat drops slid down the sides of his face.

Before Suoh could explain any further, Asami took a few more steps towards the figure with Kirishima close behind. "What are you doing here, Fei Long?" He asked darkly.

Twirling a strand of jet black hair around one of his fingers, the man smiled in response. "As your man said, I'm here to visit Akihito."

"And for what purpose?" Asami shot back, fury burning up within him.

"Asami," Fei Long addressed him as he straightened up to face him completely, "I've heard rumours about your lover."

With his golden eyes still staring at the Chinese man, Asami commented off-handedly, "Of all people, you should know that rumours shouldn't be trusted."

"There are some which hold true," the man argued. "Asami's lover broke down in one of Asami's clubs and you carried him into your office. Now, isn't that a truth?"

His eyes darkened as he placed one hand on Fei Long's shoulder. "I'd prefer it if you mind your own business."

A slender hand covered Asami's one. "I'm not here to join in the fun. I'm here to help him."

With one hard shove, Asami moved Fei Long's hand away from his. "He does not need your help."

"Asami, I'd have Mikhail's man hunted down. I know his body wasn't found and he was sighted in Japan," Fei Long stated firmly next to Asami, "He's no longer Mikhail's man anymore. You wouldn't want Yuri san hunting Akihito down."

Asami turned to glance at the Chinese man. Weighing all his options available, his eyes stared at Fei Long hardly before he pressed the pin for his apartment. The Chinese mafia boss followed behind him as Asami entered the room first.

"Akihito?" Asami called out, disrupting the peaceful silence in the room.

His eyes scanned the room thoroughly only to rest upon a black figure rolled into a ball at the bottom of the dining table. The thin man shifted slightly at the noise but remained deep asleep. Releasing his breath which he had not realised that he had been holding in, Asami hovered over the boy and positioned his arms under the boy to pick him up. All the while, Fei Long watched them closely. He witnessed the man whom he had carried a torch for years treated the young man with tender care and concern. Before the incident in Hong Kong, he might have been jealous of Takaba for receiving Asami's love and might have even wanted to hurt the young man. Now, he would probably say that he finally understood the feelings Asami had for Takaba, those that he could never had. It was weird for him to admit that somehow he was happy for the older man that he had found someone he loved. But perhaps, he had matured. Fei Long chuckled at that thought.

Pushing those thoughts away, he walked into Asami's bedroom following his footsteps. He watched the man place Takaba down on the middle of king sized bed before tucking the blanket tightly around his fragile body. He envied the both of them while seeing Asami bent down slightly to lay a kiss on Takaba's forehead before darkening the room to a slight dim.

Asami turned back to him as he led Fei Long back to the living room. "Where is Yuri?"

Fei Long tapped his tongue against the rooftop of his mouth. "You're quick as usual to jump straight to the point."

"Cut the crap."

Crossing his arms across his chest, the Chinese man sat down on the dining table graciously. "Ah, I would. But I told you that I'd hunt him down, not that I've already hunted him down."

Asami was now glaring at him. "You mean, you don't know where he is now."

"No."

"Why don't you get out of this place then? Since I've no use for you."

A smile graced his lips. "I said that I'd help. He was sighted in Japan only two days back by one of my men. I supposed he is headed for Takaba. But that's not the only reason I'm here. Tao wanted to visit Takaba, so I've brought him along and I'm curious about the rumour too."

"Come back tomorrow with Tao then. Takaba is asleep now," Asami cut him off as he took off his coat.

Pulling away from the dining table, Fei Long waved his hand and moved to the door. "I'll see you tomorrow morning then. Anyway, I'll keep to the end of my promise. For Takaba."

With that, the Chinese man left the apartment as Asami stared after him. Lifting his phone to his ear, he listened to one dialling tone before the other party picked up his call.

"Kirishima, locate Yuri as soon as possible."

"Yes, Asami sama."

Then, the man ended the call by flipping the phone closed. He would kill the man before he could hurt Takaba again.

* * *

A/N: Special thanks to the reviewers to chapter 4 – shuki00, kittyzala, Skatjas, nhgcmngcmngcgnc, nnnll, , Theia Pallas, MireaShta, KyouyaxCloud, akixasa125, Loojee, LanaLegolas and ItsRandom.

Please leave me reviews as usual! And… I shall be on my way to chase back my plot bunnies since they have been getting out of hands recently. I hope you guys love the story!


End file.
